When durability is your greatest quality, it’s difficult to win fights. Especially when you’re facing Katie Taylor.
The undisputed lightweight champion outclassed a game, but overmatched Miriam Gutierrez on Saturday night at SSE Arena in London, delivering a beating en route to a near-shutout victory to retain her titles.
The former Olympic champion from Ireland was coming off a rough fight in her rematch with Delfine Persoon on Aug. 22, which Taylor won by a unanimous decision. Some wondered whether the relatively quick turnaround – less than three months – would have an adverse effect on Taylor.
It didn’t.
Taylor (17-0, 6 KOs) seemed perfectly fresh, perfectly fit, and was better than Gutierrez in every way, which made the mission of the 37-year-old from Spain — a late comer to boxing — all but impossible. The only thing she could do was survive.
The champion seemed to be on the verge of a knockout in the opening moments, when she stunned the challenger and then followed with a flurry of hard punches with Gutierrez’s back against the ropes. Gutierrez survived.
A left hook jolted Gutierrez (13-1, 5 KOs) in Round 3. That was followed by another barrage of stiff, accurate shots. She survived.
Taylor put her opponent down with a right-left combination a split second before the bell to end Round 4. She survived.
And, from Rounds 5 to 10, Taylor unloaded more punishing volleys at various moments in attempt to score an elusive knockout, some of which seemed to have referee John Latham thinking about stopping the fight. It just didn’t happen. Gutierrez survived.
That was the loser’s only consolation. The scores were 100-89, 100-90 and a generous 99-91, which reflected Taylor’s utter dominance in the mismatch. Boxing Junkie had it 100-89, a shutout.
“I’m very, very satisfied,” Taylor said. “… She was very, very tough. I was trying my best to get her out of there but she kept firing back. She’s very durable. She obviously was a lot bigger and stronger than I am.
“… I would’ve liked a stoppage today, but overall I thought it was a great performance.”
Taylor, 34, has no plans to slow down.
“I feel like we’re just getting better and better,” she said. “… People keep mentioning legacy. It’s all about legacy. I want to make history in this sport and inspire the next generation of fighters.”
What’s next for her? Promoter Eddie Hearn, standing at her side after the fight, said options abound.
“I like the winner of [the Cecilia] Braekhus-[Jessica] McCaskill [rematch],” he said. “We’ve got Chantelle Cameron soon at 140. That’s a big fight. We have Natasha Jonas. Terri Harper can come up from 130. Mikaela Mayer. There are so many challenges.
“And [Taylor] won’t duck any of them. I couldn’t suggest a fight she wouldn’t take.”
[lawrence-related id=15538,15535]